Cone clutches are well known in which there is an outer member defining an inner frustro-conical surface and an inner member also defining an outer mating frustro-conical surface. However, most cone clutches as known in the prior art mount the inner member on a shaft. This presents problems of concentricity in that the shaft through the inner member may not be concentric with the inner member, which leads to eccentricity of the engaging surfaces for frictional or braking purposes, and therefore, variation of torque as one member rotates with respect to the other. Additionally, the shaft upon which the inner member is mounted must then be mounted in bearings or in rotatable sockets, which further compounds the problem of providing concentricity and constant torque.
This problem has been addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,308,966 which states that it eliminates the problem of the necessity for finished metal to metal bearings. However, this patent requires a rubber friction bushing to be bonded to the inner member and an outer friction sleeve which is integrally bonded thereto. However, differences in the thickness of the bonding agents can lead to variations in torque between the frictional surfaces as one member rotates relative to the other.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a new and improved cone clutch assembly in which reliance for concentricity is not made on a central shaft mounted in external bearings, and further, where there is no bonding of a frictional material to the mating surfaces of the clutch members.